wfn.org | Native American camp celebrates spirit of reconciliation

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Aug. 2, 2002  News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.   10-34-71B{342}

By the Rev. Cynthia Abrams*

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (UMNS) - Virginia's history includes being an entry point
for European migration and the spreading of the Gospel, as well as a site
for the massacre of Native Americans. 

That made it a good place to hold the 15th annual National Native American
Family Camp, said the Rev. Alvin Deer, executive director of the Native
American International Caucus. "We have to start reconciliation somewhere."

Reconciliation movements are under way in many churches and denominations,
including the United Methodist Church, Deer noted. "There is a great spirit
of reconciliation going on worldwide.

"Despite 500 years of mission work, only 3 percent of native people are
Christians," he said. "We need to use this reconciliation movement to reach
the other 97 percent and bring them to Christ." Native American people of
faith believe God intended the Gospel to reach them, he said. 

More than 260 Native Americans representing 20 tribes gathered July 15-19
for the family camp, held on the campus of William and Mary College, a
school originally established to teach Indians to read the Bible. The Native
American International Caucus, a United Methodist organization, sponsored
the event.

A diverse group of preachers used the camp's theme, "Circle of Healing for
the People and the Land," to urge participants to take on the full mantle of
their Christian leadership and to act in American Indian churches and
communities in the name of Jesus Christ. 

The camp's theme, chosen after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was intended
to reflect healing for all people and for the land.

Preachers included Deer; the Rev. Sylvia Collins, pastor of the Triad Native
American United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C.; Ronnie Tom, a young adult
headed to seminary; and Emerson Falls, president of Cook College and
Theological School in Tempe, Ariz.

Chief Ann Richardson, of the Rappahanock Tribe of Virginia, urged
participants to support the tribe's quest for federal recognition. Federal
recognition legislation is pending this summer in Congress for the
Rappahanock and several other Virginia tribes.  

Jaydee Hanson, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and
Society, shared information on social action and the church's stance on a
variety of issues affecting Native Americans. He spoke about the church's
Social Creed and Social Principles as teaching documents. 

"There are tensions in our social teachings, and one that United Methodist
Native Americans feel keenly at the moment is (about) the church's stance on
gambling," Hanson said. "On the one hand, the church opposes gambling, but
on the other hand, some tribes are using their sovereignty to support
casinos. It is a tribal decision that needs some strong witnesses from the
church."

As sovereign nations, tribes have the right to determine their own form of
government, establish businesses, levy taxes, provide for systems of
justice, determine criteria for tribal membership and determine who may be
excluded from reservations.

The camp included a visit by youth participants to the Jamestown Settlement
and the Powhatan Indian village, as well as traditional craft workshops and
children's programs. 

The National United Methodist Native American Center sponsored continuing
education classes for clergy. Topics included spiritual formation and native
leadership, led by Falls, and environmental racism and native communities,
led by Hanson.

The traditional talent night featured tribal singing, storytelling, skits
and testimonies. In one of the highlights, a Native American woman gave an
emotional testimony about the impact the family camp has had on her life.

The tribes represented Native American United Methodist churches in several
states, including Arizona, California, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky,
Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

The camp was funded in part with grants from the Board of Global of
Ministries and the Board of Discipleship, as well as from the National
United Methodist Native American Center through a grant made to the center
by the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.	
# # #
*Abrams, a United Methodist pastor, is the executive director of the
National United Methodist Native American Center in Claremont, Calif.

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United Methodist News Service
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